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OUTDOOR RESEARCH WOMEN'S ICELINE JACKET REVIEW

15/2/2016

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The brand new Outdoor Research Iceline jacket is a technical ice climbing jacket new for winter 2015-2016.

Outdoor Research Women's Iceline Jacket 
Size: XS-XL
Colour: Black/Rio, Rio/Apple, Ultraviolet/Night
Price: $285 USD
Weight: 19.6oz/555g (medium)

Features: My initial impression of the Iceline jacket was positive. Right out of the package, this jacket has a number of features I have NEVER seen before on any technical jacket shell. The water-resistant and breathable nylon/spandex Ventia fabric is fused with an inner polyester fleece grid insulation. This allows both heat to be trapped and dumped at the same time! 

The Dynamic Reach Underpanels are created to stretch when reaching overhead. The hood has an interesting halo hood cinching system that tightens around the helmet, locking the hood in place. Another cool feature this jacket has are internal wrist pockets for handwarmers. The velcro around the wrists is also aggressive and the internal and external pockets are large.
Iceline Halo Hood
Polyester grid fleece
Hot packet wrist pocket
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The Iceline jacket's dynamic reach underarm panels
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Pro's:  The colour and stylie-ness of this jacket is awesome. When showing it off to other women, everyone wanted to try it on. It seemed like in every photo I took and everytime I went out someone complimented me on the how the blue (Rio/Apple) colour 'pops'.

The polyester fleece grid lining the inside of the jacket is soft and I can say it does add warmth to your system. I wore the jacket from -16C/+3F  to +2C/34F on my test days.

The underarm panels do stretch when ice climbing and there was no feeling of pulling when reaching overhead.  The aggressive velcro wrist straps work well cinched tightly when wearing my gloves that extend over the wrists of the jacket.

Many of my friends were super keen on the hand warmer pocket on the interior jacket near the wrist. I never tried this feature as I wear battery operated gloves, but an interesting feature nonetheless!

The hood easily fits a helmet underneath and the halo hood cinching strap does fit tightly around the helmet. With the strap snug, the hood seems to work like a cohesive unit with your helmet so moving your head in different directions is not cumbersome.

I like the positioning of the pockets, easy to use with a harness on. 


A few of my test days involved wet, drippy conditions. The Iceline stood up to all the moisture and I never got soaked. The waterproof breathable Ventia fabric shined in all weather conditions and was able to manage my varying levels of heat production with ease.

So far I have had no issues with durability of the jacket. The lighter blue colour is showing some discolouration from dirt, but there has been no signs of wear.

This jacket has become my 'go-to' jacket for ice climbing. It has permanently replaced all previous shells I was wearing and has far exceeded all my expectations.

Cons: I would describe the fit of this jacket as 'regular'. I would have designed this jacket with just a inch or two longer length at the back. I never had any issues with the jacket pulling out of the harness, but I like the longer length at the back at the winter for coverage and for warmth. Other than that, this jacket is perfect for what it's made for!

Best Uses: Ice Climbing

Full Disclosure: I was provided the OR Iceline jacket for this review as part of the #ORInsightLab program. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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    Canadian gal hooked on pursuing outdoor adventures, testing outdoor gear, and a passion for outdoor education.

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